Hallowe’en quieter than last year

HALLOWE’EN in the district would seem to have gone with more of a fizzle than a bang in the best possible way where local police are concerned.

Area commander, Chief Inspector Ken Mawhinney, reported to last week’s meeting of the Banbridge District Policing Partnership that the Hallowe’en strategy was only just winding down, so final figures were not yet available.

But on the strength of available figures, he said, this Hallowe’en had been quieter than last, with October reports of anti-social behaviour in Dromore standing at 16, compared to 22 last year; Rathfriland was down from 21 to 12 and Banbridge and Gilford down from 177 to 129.

Stressing that it was not only young people who were responsible for anti-social behaviour and throwing fireworks, he reported a decrease of some 40 per cent in such incidents.

Even in the run-up to Hallowe’en, he said, there had not been the same sort of emphasis on the occasion; he didn’t know why.

Police, he said, always tried to bank a few overtime hours for Hallowe’en and the Neighbourhood Policing Teams had to get most of the credit for their flexibility in being available for duty at need.